OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
1:17 PM – Saturday, August 15, 2026
Iran has rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory, calling on the U.S. to “stop indulging in delusions.”
On Friday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated on X, “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power.”
He went on, “Once and for all, accept the reality: up to this point, you have suffered strategic and heavy defeats; the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian; this strait will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease your fanciful delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade.”
This post came in response to a statement Trump made during an event in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman at the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York, on Friday.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump proclaimed to the sound of cheers.
An anonymous White House official clarified that Trump was joking, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is exported from the Gulf countries, has been at a trickle compared to the peacetime levels of approximately 100 to 140 ships per day, including roughly 50 oil tankers. According to ship-tracking firm Kpler, only six vessels passed through the strait last weekend.
Iran continues to fire at ships attempting to transit through the narrow waterway, though some have turned their transponders off and risked crossing undetected.
Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Thursday that the number one goal was to “keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country,” adding, “obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”
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